ORIGINAL KISS GUITARIST ACE FREHLEY DISCUSSES THE BAND’S ROCK HALL INDUCTION, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FORMER BAND MEMBERS AND HOW HE FEELS ABOUT ANOTHER MUSICIAN WEARING HIS MAKEUP ONSTAGE
Andy Greene of Rolling Stone spoke with original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. Portions of the interview appear below.
RS: Tell me your first reaction to the news that KISS made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ace: It’s such an honor. I’m so excited. I learned about it last night when my assistant called me. I didn’t sleep very well afterwards.
RS: Did the news surprise you?
Ace: It surprised me, but when I saw all the people we were up against I had a feeling we were going to make it in…It should be a great evening. I’m really excited and looking forward to the night.
RS: I spoke with Gene a couple of hours ago. He said he’s willing to play with you and Peter Criss that night.
Ace: Okay. That sounds like a great idea.
RS: Are you open to that too?
Ace: Absolutely. Are you gonna want us to put makeup on?
RS: Sure.
Ace: It’s been a while for me.
RS: It’s been over a decade, right?
Ace: The last shows I did with KISS was in Australia around 2002.
RS: You have no hesitation about walking back onstage with Paul and Gene?
Ace: Not at all. I think it will be great. I think it will be great for the fans to witness and a lot of fun. I recently performed with Peter at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York for Eddie Trunk’s 30 years in broadcasting celebration. That was a lot of fun. I hadn’t performed with Peter in 12 years. We all still have it.
RS: Gene mentioned that next year is the band’s 40th anniversary. He said he didn’t want a reunion tour, but I got the sense it was somewhere in his mind. Would you want a KISS reunion tour?
Ace: It’s something I haven’t even entertained or even thought about. I hadn’t even realized that next year is the 40-year anniversary. Right now, I’m focusing on my solo career. I recently signed a two-album deal. I’ve been in the music for the past three months.
RS: If a tour was offered to you, would you think about it?
Ace: It’s something I would consider if it was presented in the proper way.
RS: Gene was praising you when we spoke, but in other interviews he will call you a “cancer” or a “loser.”
Ace: I’ve always had a pretty good relationship with Paul and Gene. We parted company on more than one occasion, but there’s always been mutual respect and admiration. I think somehow the press plays it up that there’s a lot of hate between the members. It’s really completely blown out of proportion.
RS: But he called you a “cancer” recently.
Ace: A cancer? I wasn’t aware of that. What does it mean?
RS: I guess that you’re somehow a poison.
Ace: [Huge laugh] I think he gets frustrated that even though they have a replacement for me in the band, fans are continually bombarding him and saying, “Hey, you should get the original guitar player back. Ace is still number one.” He gets that constantly. It has to be frustrating to him and Paul.
RS: Are you insulted that somebody else is in your makeup?
Ace: Well, it’s a choice that Paul and Gene have made. I know the fans aren’t happy with it. I read the comments on the Internet. Paul and Gene have lost a lot of fans because of the move they made. It is what it is.
I’m not happy about it. Most of the comments I read by fans say that, “If you’re going to replace Ace, you should have created a different character.” That’s what they did with Vinnie Vincent when I originally left the group in 1982.
RS: They have Eric Singer in the Catman makeup and he’s singing Beth.
Ace: I didn’t know he was singing “Beth.” [Laughs] You know, a lot of the fans I talk to just tell me they aren’t going to go to the shows anymore. I know concert attendance hasn’t been what they’ve wanted this past year. It is what it is.
RS: Gene has implied he doesn’t believe you are sober.
Ace: That’s kind of juvenile. Does he have blinders on? I know he’s spoken to several people that I know that he knows that have seen me and done business with me over the past several years. I don’t believe they are telling him that I’m not sober. It’s been over seven years for me and I can’t see myself going back. But all I have is today. One day at a time.
RS: I imagine it’s going to be emotional to stand at the podium with the three other guys in the band.
Ace: It’s going to be intense, but it’s going to be great. I don’t foresee any negative vibes. I don’t foresee any bad blood. I think that myself, Peter, Paul and Gene, we’re the four guys that started the group and brought it into international success. I think that sometime in the late 1970s we were listed as the number one group in the world by some polls. We achieved what most people only dream about. I’ll never forget it. And that’s something nobody can take away from me.
Read more at Rolling Stone.
source: rollingstone.com
I am sorry, but I saw the original line up in 1997 and it was horrible. Yeah, Peter is their original drummer, but man..he was beating the drums so soft…and yeah..Ace is the original guitarist but he acts so generic on stage..it made me want to puke.
The new guys are MUCH better players regardless of what bias loyalties still exist. Plus..they play ALL the songs and not just the 70’s stuff. Try getting Peter or Ace to agree to play Crazy Nights or Tears are Falling.
Ace and Peter wouldn’t play Crazy Crazy Nights or Tears are Falling because they’re S@?! songs!!!
I think they should say thanks but NO thanks!! That would be a statement to the rock and roll hall of fame…. really it would. But I know deep inside it means something to the original 4 especially to the 2 guys who kept it going in the thin 1980’s
Message to Gene Simmons, Kiss fans have bent over backwards overlooking the utterly retarded nonsense you throw on them. there hasn’t been any new Kiss material that can stand along side the early material, I’ll throw in some of the post Ace and Peter stuff, certainly nothing past the late 80’s. the costumes these days are over designed and clumsy looking trying there best to nearly seem as though they belong with the original paint, same goes for the stage show, you lost that classic cool timeless look a long time ago. It would be like the Beatles getting back together and trying to incorporate some new overworked version of the Pepper marching band outfits. no matter how heard you try Gene you have turned kiss into the loudest lounge act on the planet. the only thing that eric and tommy do for kiss is remind us that you and Paul are to old and in some cases to fat to charge what you charge. I realize no new points made here but I think every real kiss fan that knows what it used to be, just feels stupid for ever having spent the money on any of that crap to begin with. Love to Ace, Peter, and the number for a shrink for Paul who despite his money must need severe therapy. Hell even Pauls boobs sag a little too much these days
Name one band from the 70’s whose newer material ‘matches up’ to the material they came out with in the 70’s. Were you looking for another Destroyer or Love Gun? BTW how much of those classics were written by Ace and Peter? Please don’t respond with Beth and if all you can name is Shock Me, I wouldn’t respond.
Well, Rocket Ride faired much better in the charts than the title track on Love Gun… Cold Gin and Parasite are classics, among hard cores at least… Not to mention Ace’s solo album!
Ace’s album was the best by far. But no hit singles that hit radio (New York Groove was popular amongst fans but not radio). Parasite again was popular in the 70’s with fans. Cold Gin would be the only song with legs. That leaves one song with Ace’s fingerprints on it, and zilch for Mr. Crisscola who hasn’t done a damn thing outside of KISS. I think KISS would’ve survived without Cold Gin, which Ace couldn’t even bring himself to sing.
Mark: When you mentioned “the utterly retarded nonsense you throw on them”, do you mean the new KISS Arena Football League team that Gene and Paul have been hyping up lately?
Ace always does a great interview. Check out his responce to a question about Paul Stanley s sexuality. He s a funny man for certain.
It should be a nice one off show. No makeup. Invite Kulick and Vincent. Have Tommy and Eric there also. But no big reunion. Ace and Peter may be the originals but they can’t cut it anymore for an extended period of time. Sonic Boom & Monster were great. Build from that point on into the future.